Ronnie Deauville

Ronnie Deauville was a Sinatra-style singer who first became interested in singing while he was in the Marine Air Corps during World War II. His favorite band was that of Tommy Dorsey and his singing style reflected an admiration of that band's lead vocalist, Frank Sinatra. After the war, Ronnie got his first job singing in an oleo in a small theater play in Hollywood, where he was discovered by a Paramount Pictures talent scout who got him his first band job with Glen Gray's Orchestra. For the next few years, Ronnie worked with all the great bands of the day and as a solo performer sang on such shows as TV's Ted Mack Family Hour and The Colgate Comedy Hour. He also was a guest performer in several top nightclubs such as the Mocambo in Los Angeles and the El Mirador in Palm Springs. However, a long singing career was not to be as in September of 1956, Ronnie was in an automobile accident, and was stricken with Polio a month later leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. This was just a few months before the Salk vaccine came on the scene. Ronnie spent over a year in an iron lung. His chances of ever singing again were thought to be nil, since he had virtually no breath control. After months of arduous practicing, Ronnie made a comeback on a local Los Angeles TV show. He went on to fulfill other bookings before he stopped due to his health. Ronnie ended up in a wheel chair for the rest of his life. Ronnie's career was stifled but not totally destroyed. Ralph Edwards soon did Ronnie's story on his "This Is Your Life" TV show, which stirred enough interest in him so that he was able to find work in motion picture dubbing for 20th Century-Fox, Warner Brothers, and Allied Artists. He died of cancer on Christmas Eve of 1990.